Questions raised over HSE fund after court case

WHEN Jim Hyland learned that money owed to his 37-year-old autistic son by the state was being held in a central HSE fund, he asked for it to be transferred to his son’s own bank account.

The HSE refused his request, and so began a two-year battle, which has resulted in the first-ever case of its kind being taken to the courts — and won.

Colin Hyland, Jim’s son, was owed the money through the Health Repayment Scheme. Set up in 2006, the scheme sought to pay back people — mainly the elderly in nursing homes — who had been overcharged over a number of years while living in state-funded services.